Controller for pin setting apparatus



Feb. 23, 1932. J. C. BACKUS CONTROLLER RoR PIN SETTING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet l f a im Filed March 27, 1928 ||l Illl Burl/s btomwq Feb. 23, l1932. J. c. BAcKUs 1,846,934

CONTROLLER FOR PIN SETTING APPARATUS "n l' l 3 ln/manica J (igual/us Feb. 23, 1932. J. c. BAcKus l 1,846,934

CONTROLLER FOR PIN SETTING APPARATUS Filed March 27, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 23, 1932. 1C. BACKUS 1,846,934

CONTROLLER FOR PIN SETTING APPARATUS Filed March 27, 1928 5 Sheet's-Sheet 4 Feb. 23, 1932. .1. c. BACKUs CONTROLLER FOR PIN SETTING APPARATUS Filed March 27',- 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 c uw mx eww NQ www Nw kw. ww.

.m o V@ wm mm. uw l m r mm MQ mw Cil Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT lOFFICE'.

JOHN CLAYTON IBACKU'S, OF SMETHPORT', PENNSYLVANIA; HAMLIN BANK @a TRUST COMPANY AND BIEVER, OF SMETHPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, EXECUTORS OF SAID JOHN CLAYTON BACKUS, DECEASED CONTROLLER FOR PIN SETTING APPARATUS Application led March 27,

This invention relates to pin setting apparatus for bowling alleys and particularly to improvements upon certain detailed mechanism shown and described in my pending application for patent, Serial No. 122,434 lil-ed on July 14, 1926 (now Patent No. 1,833,813, granted November 24, 1931). In this construction I illustrated what may for convenience be termed a vacuum dash pot for the purpose of restraining and delaying the opening movement of the pin clamps which support the pins immediately above the spots of the alley, so that the gripping action of the clamps on the pins shall be gradually relaxed and the pins permitted to settle slowly upon the alley without any noise or shock, this mechanism permitting the rapid final movement of the clamp operating frame to thus cause the immediate upward movement of the pin setting frame to a raised position above the alley.

The object of my present invention, generally speaking, is to provide improved means for this purpose which, through the inertia of a rotating body yieldingly resists the return of the pin releasing movement of the clamp operating frame but which permits of a free closing movement of the frame and which further permits the pin shifting and clamp operating mechanism to travel through the last part of the pin releasing movement very quickly.

A further object is to provide a construction of this character which embodies a fly wheel, a gearing operating the same which includes a pinion operating in` one direction, freely but in the opposite direction having operative engagement through the gearing with the fly wheel and a rack actuated by the pin operating mechanism which engages said pinion, this mechanism having been found by me to be much more effective and certain in its operation than the mechanism for the same purpose illustrated and described in my patent above referred to.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a 1928. Serial No. 265,175.

pin setting mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the pin setting mechanism 10W- ered and pin in position from which to be set;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4:--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevation partly in section of the locking means for the counterbalancing spring roller;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevation of the means for locking the pin uprighting means and allied parts;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary top plan View of the rollers shown in Fig. 6 partly broken away;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the controlling mechanism which forms the subject-matter of this invention;

Figure 9 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the pawl carrying disk and the coacting ratchet wheel;

Figure 12 is a. fragmentary plan view of the pin carrier showing the controlling mechanism in plan;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of one side of the machine, showing the parts in normal position;

Fig. 14 is a detail sectional view of the locking devices for the block or pawl 82 shown in Fig. 5; l

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the carrier frame, a portion of one of the shafts of the pin operating mechanism, and certain other parts;

F ig. 1G is a rear view of the entire machine, certain of the parts being broken away.

In the accompanying drawings I have' i1- lustrated only7 so much of the pin setting mechanism which is illustrated and described in my Patent No. 1,833,813 above referred to as will make the operation of this invention clear. I shall first briefly describe the pin setting mechanism and then describe in detail the mechanism which forms the subjectmatter of the' present application. In Figures 1 and 2 which are vertical sectional views of the pin setting mechanism, 10 designates a slide mounted for vertical movement on a vertical guide 11. The slide carries u on it a plate 9 having outstanding upper an lower ears 8 through which a rod 7 slides. It will be understood that the supporting mechanism, consisting of the slide' 10 and the vertical guide 11, the plate 9 and the rod 7, is duplicated on the opposite side of the apparatus and that only one side of the apparatus is illustrated.

Guides 11 may be mounted in any convenient way, but as here shown are supported by the alley dividing strip 29. An arm 31 (Fig. 13) is attached to each strip, and the arm has a lateral extension 32, slot-ted at 33 to receive bolts or lag screws 34. A flange 35 rests upon the top of the strip.

The rod 7 at its lower end is engaged with a pin carrier or frame lrsubstantially triangular in plan by means of a bar 5 projecting laterally therefrom and carrying at each end a block 6 to which the rods 7 are secured. Mounted on this frame at the points 0r positions at which the pins are to be set are a plurality of approximately semi-circular pin stops and guides 14. Disposed transversely of the frame are a plurality of transverse shafts 23 each shaft carrying one or more U- shaped pin lifters 22 which are designed to upright the pins when the shafts are rocked, there being a lifter 22 for each guide and stop 14 and the several shafts being linked together for simultaneous movement from a rearwardly and upwardly inclined position to a vertical position. One of the lifter shafts 23 is connected to operating mechanism for automatically causing the lift-ing of the pins from a recumbent to an upright position when the frame has descended from a raised position to its discharge position as will be described.

The carrier frame includes longitudinal bars 13, and a. pair of pin clamps 15 is associated with each of the pin stops or guides and the clamps of each pair are disposed at opposite sides of the respective pin stops 14 and are operatively pivoted to the bars 13 by being swingingly engaged with the lower ends of the guides 14. The clamps 15 are curved to conform to the diameter of the pins so as to grip the sides thereof to insure a proper spotting of the pins when delivered upon the alley. These clamps are preferably formed of sheet metal and swing laterally at their lower ends. The curvature of the clamps also necessitates the provision of cams carried by elements 18, which cams act to close or permit these clamps to open. These cams are constituted by rollers 16 mounted upon longitudinal bars 18 disposed beneath the respective bars 13 and slidably mounted in hangers attached to the frame.

The longitudinal bars 18 are connected so as tov form a clamp operating frame which has limited longitudinal movement in one direction to effect a closing of the clamps and in another direction a release thereof to admit of a discharge of the pins.

Coil springs 21 are connected each at one end to the carrier frame 1 and at the other end to the clamp operating frame formed of the members 18 and these normally hold the clamp operating frame at the limit of its forward movement and exert a forward pull upon said frame when the springs are subjected to tension as will be hereinafter described.

One of the shafts 23 is connected to the operating mechanism as before stated. Another shaft 23 has the depending arm 37 which is connected by means of the link 38 to the clamp operating frame (see Figure l) When the shafts 23 are rotated in a clockwise direction to move the pin setting elements 22 to a vertical position for uprighting the pins, the clamp operating frame moves rearward or'to the leftin Figures l and 3 with the result that the springs 2l are tensioned. This rearward movement of the clamp operating frame causes the rollers 16 to ride upon the clamps 15 and press the clamps together to grip the pins 26 and prevent dropping them upon the alley, and, of course, a reverse movement of the shafts 23 shifts the clamp operating frame in the other direction to permit the clamps to open by reason of the fact that recesses 108 formed in the clamp operating frame bars 18 are opposite the clamps as shown in Figure 3 so that the clamps may open and release the ins.

The shaft 23 to which the operating mechanism is connected, as now to be described, has mounted upon each opposite end portion thereof the pair of pulleys 39 and 40. Referring to Figures 7 and 13, the pulley 39 is fast upon the end of the shaft 23 While the adjacent pulley 40 is loose upon the shaft. Locking means are provided on the pulleys 39 and 40 to cause them to rotate in unison under certain conditions and to permit of independent rotation under certain other conditions. To this end the pulleys 39 and 40 as shown in Figure 7 are provided with transverse passages which are adapted to register in one position of t-he pulleys.

These passages receive a spring actuated locking pin 41 and a releasinflr pin 42 which is mounted in the pulley 40. ihe last named pin normally projects laterally from the pulley 40 and is adapted to ride upon a cam 43. lVhen the pin 42 strikes this cam 43 in the rotation of the pulleys 39 and 40 the pin 42 is moved inward a distance to cause the locking pin 41 to clear the pulley 40 and thereby admit of relative independent rotation of the pulleys. An arm 44 projects from the pulley 40 and a coil spring 45 connects the outer end of this arm with a ri id arm 46a attached to the slide 10 so that uring the final descent of the carrier the springs 45 are tensioned to cause the pulleys 40 to be rotated when released. There is a locking dog 46 for each pulley 40. This dog is pivoted at one end and its free end is connected to a rod 47 Whose upper end terminates in an eye 48 slidably receiving a rod 49 depending from 'the arm 46". The lower end of this rod 49 terminates in an eye 50 slidably receiving the rod 47.

Thus when the carrier frame nearly reaches the limit of its downward movement, the eyes 48 and 50 engage with each other, (see Figure 2) and the dog 46 releases the pulley 40 Whereu'pon the pulley 40 and the pulley 39 will be rotated in a clock-wise direction by the action of the tensioned springs 45.

Slidingly supported by each rod 7 (see Figure 6) and passing at its lower end loosely through a plat-e 52 projecting from the carrier frame is a bar 51 having a dog 53 pivoted to the lower end of the bar and adapted to engage a notch 54 in the pulley 39. This dog is forced inward by a spring 55. A trip 56 is attached to the upper end of the bar 51, designed for the purpose of releasing the counterbalance springs whereby the carrier, when relieved of the we ight of the pins is au-` tomatically returned to normal position.

The counterbalance mechanism includes a spring roller 57 located above the alley transverselythereof and vhaving a coil spring 58 therein acting to resist rotation of the roller 57 in one direction. Mounted on the spring roller are pulleys 62, Figures 1 and 16 over which chains 64 from the rear portion of the carrier frame and from the front portion thereof pass, the chains being attached to these pulleys. The spring within the spring roller therefore acts to normally wind up these chains and the spring within the spring roller is tensioned to counter-balance the carrier frame and a predetermined number of pins 26, but when the carrier frame is completely filled with pins the weight is just sufficient to cause the carrier frame to move downward against the tension of the spring roller. lVhen the carrier frame has discharged its load, the spring roller returns the carrier frame to normal position.

The lateral pulleys which engage the chains leading to the sides of the carrier are each provided with a stop 68 and locking members 69 and 70 on rods 72 and 73 are disposed on each side of the stop (see Figure 5) to normally prevent rotation of the spring roller 57 in either direction when the carrier frame is raised. The locking members 69 are supported by rod 74, and members 70 are supported by and adapted to be raised by means of a transverse shaft having a finger 76. The rock shaft 75 as shown in Figure 1 carries an arm 77 having an eye 78 at its end and the shaft 75 is held in predetermined position by a' spring 98 which holds this shaft against a suitable stop 99. When the shaft 75 is rotated in a clock-Wise direction the finger 76 lifts the locking member 70, permitting the descent of the carrier and pins. -An operating cord 79 passes through the eye 78 and over a pulley 6 4 upon the spring roller 57 and an operating cord 8O is connected to the eye 78 and passes'over the '75 pulley 81 so that the arm 77 may be depressed by'a pull upon either the cord 79 or and in case the combined weight of the carrier andthe pins fails to overcome the tension of the spring roller then the cord 79 may be pulled to rotate the spring roller'in a direction to lower the carrier.

The locking member 69 (see Figure 5) carries at its end a pivoted block '82,carrying upon its free edge the laterally projecting pin 84. Pivoted upon the sides of the locking member are the links 85 and 86 having notches 87 to engage the pin 84 to hold the block 82 from upward movement. 88 is pivotally connected to the links 85 and 86 and in turn the link is pivoted to an arm 89 mounted upon a rock shaft 90, this rock shaft carrying an arm 93, a spring 97 urging the rock shaft 90 in a clock-Wise direction.

rlhis arm'93 is also pivoted to a lever 92 which in turn is pivoted at 92 to the frame and whose other end is pivotally connected to a rod 94 lwhich passesthrough the guide lug 95 and terminates-in a lateral extension 96 which is disposed 'in the path of movement of the trip 56 when the slide 10 has been moved fully downward upon the guide 1l and when the rod 7 has been moved fully downward through the guide lugs 8. )Viren the trip 56 depresses the extension 96, the rock shaft 90 is rotated in a direction to release the pivoted block 82 which is free to turn to permit of a counterclockwise movement of the roller 57 to wind up the supporting chains and ret-urn the carrier to its normal position.

So far I have briefly as possible described the construction which is fully illustrated, described and claimed in my said Patent No. 1,833,813 above referred to. In this patent there is illustrated a cylinder having therein a piston and operating as a dash pot which was designed to insure a gradual release of the pins 26 and prevent any noise or shock when the pins are delivered upon the alley.

The mechanism which forms the subject matter of this application for this purpose comprises aframe including` two longitudinally extending strips 111, adapted to be mounted upon longitudinal members of the pin supporting frame adjacent the forward end of the frame. Mounted upon this frame is a transverse shaft 112 carrying a gear wheel 113 meshing with the pinion 114 mounted upon the shaft 115 and carrying the {iy wheel 116.

The link with a ratchetwheel 120 mounted upon the= Coacting with shaft 112 to rotate therewith. the pinion 117 is a rack 121 which rests upon t-he top of this pinion and is connected to a rack carrying bar 122 which extends rearward and as illustrated in Figure 8 is pivotally connected to one of the lifter members 22. Thus when this lifter member moves upward and forward to upright the pins. the Y rack 122 will be moved forward and will rotate the gear wheel or pinion 117 and rotate the disk 118 in a direction to cause the pawls 119 to ride freely over the ratchet teeth Upon a reverse movement of the pin uprighting member 22, that is, a rearward and downward r movement from the position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 1, the rack 121 will move reverscly and will cause a rotation of the pinion 117, the disk 118 and the ratchet wheel 120, thus causing rotation of the shaft 112. This rotation will be communicated to the fly wheel 116 and it will be obvious that in order to' rotate this fly wheel 116 its inertia must be overcome. It is to be particularly noted that the extremity of the rack bar 121 is free of teeth as at 123 so that when this rack bar 121 is drawn rearward and brings this untoothed portion 123 over the pinion 117, the rack bar will be entirely freed` from its engagement with the pinion and can move back freely to its initial position.

In the operation of this' controlling mechanism, .when the pin uprighting member 22 has made about one-third of its upward and forward stroke, the teeth on the rack 121 will mesh with the pinion 117, but as this pinion is loose upon the shaft 112, the rack 121 moves forward without resistance. After the pins have been set4 and the clamps 15 released. the springs 21 urge the clamp actuating frame 18 to return to its unclamping position. that is, to the right in Figure 3. This action tends, of course, to shift the uprighting members 22 and the rack bar 121 rearward. As soon as the rearward movement starts, however, the pawls or dogs 119 engage with the ratchet 120. Before this rearward movement can attain any speed, however, it must overcome the inertia of the balance wheel 116.

Thus the pin clamping members or aws 15 remain tightly closed until such time as the pull (caused by the springs 21) on the rack 121 starts the gear wheels and the fly wheel 116 revolving. The speed of this train of gears increases up to the point where the pins 26 have been set and the clamps 15 have opened wide enough to clear thclargest di- 'ameter of the pin. The pins are now stand- Vframe 18, which has traveled rearward about two-thirds of its distance to travel the other third of its movement swiftly and with suf- {icilent force to trip the overhead automatic oc c.

This tripping of the lock is secured by the rotation of the shaft 23 having thereon the pulley 39 quickly in a counterclockwise direction, which will give a sudden pull downward upon the bar 51 and the linger 56 so that this finger 56 will strike the member 96 on the lower end of the rod 94 and cause the lever 92 to rock the shaft 90, which in turn will free the latch 86 from the block 82 and permit the block to turn into a position permitting the spring roller to rotate in a reverse direction to lift the pin supporting frame to a raised position above the alley` so that the pins are left in position for play.

The general operation of the mechanism heretofore described is fully set forth in my patent before referred to but it may be well to briefly state it again. The pin boy or other attendant places the pins 26 with their butt ends resting against the guides 14, the pins being in upward and rearward slanting position. When all the pins are disposed upon the frame, the attendant pulls either of the cords 79 or 80 and this shifts the arms 77 so as to lift upon the locking member 70. As soon as the locking member 70 is lifted the weight of the pin supporting frame counterbalances the spring of the spring roller 57 and the frame descends swiftly toward the floor of the alley and stops with the pins very slightly above the floor. When the pin supporting frame has reached this position, the links 47 and 49 have been extended as far as they can be and the spring has been placed under tension. The links 47 and 49 pull upward on the latch 46, releasing the pulleys 40 and 39 which rotate in a clockwise direction under the action of the spring 45.

It is to be understood that as the pin frame descends, it is being cushioned by the tensioning of the overhead lifting spring 58 surrounding a rod 59,7then when slides 10 on the standards are stopped about half way in their downward movement there is further cushioning through the continued downward movement of the slide 7 guided through the ears 8. This puts tension on springs 45, which further checks the descent and the little inertia that is left is taken care of by 'the coiled Springs (Fig. 5) in the locking uprighting the pins. This, at the same time,l

acts to shift the members 18 against the action of the springs 21 so as to cause the clamps to be shifted inward and engage the butt ends of the pins with the pins held very slightly above the floor of the alley. This forward and upward movement of the pin uprighting members 22 shifts the rack bar 122 with its rack 121 forward, as before described, without affecting the controlling Hy wheel 116 or the gearing connected thereto. The moment that the pulley 40 is released from the pulley 39 by the action of the cam 43 and the pins 41 and 42, the springs 21 which, as understood, are previously tensioned, operate to move the clamp operating frame forwardly, thereby withdrawing the rollers 16 from engagement with the clamps 15 and releasing the clamps 15.

The first part of this forward movement of the clamp-operating frame is relatively slow dueto the inertia of the balance wheel 116 so that the gripping action of the rollers 16 thus permitting the final movement of the clamp operating frame and the pin operating mechanism to be very rapid and permitting, as above stated, of the rapid depression lof the finger 56 and the release of the block 82.

This permits the roller 57 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction under the tension Y of its spring so as to wind the supporting chains upon the respective pulleys, thereby returning. the carrier frame to its normal or predetermined position for the next operation.

It will be seen that my controlling mechanism has a gear train actuated mechanism as distinguished from a pneumatic mechanism, and that it is controlled by the inertia of a Hy wheel rather than by an air exhausting action, as in my prior patent above referred to. The train of gears and the Hy Wheel control, therefore, the automatically acting mechanism which shifts the pin lifting mechanism back to its initial position and releases the pins and permits the pin Carrier to rise to its inoperative position above the alley. In other words, the inertia mechanism which I have shown controls certain of the automatic actions of the pin setter and times these actions and renders noiseless the lowering of the pins upon the bed of the alley.

When pins get old and the butts get round,

they are likely to be unsteady and if this should happen to the pins that are being used on my machine it might be desirable to have the automatic control work a little slower than it ordinarily does in order to give the pins more time to steady themselves upright on the spots. To this end, I have provided an adjustable brake on the fly wheel comprising .a spring 124 which is rivetedY at one end to a supporting member 125, this spring bearing against the fly wheel 116 and being adjustable, as regards its pressure on the balance wheel, by a screw 126. By adjusting the screw 126, vthe spring 124 may be caused to bear with more or less force upon the Hy wheel 116, thus causing this controller to work slower or faster, as desired.

While I have illustrated a particular form of my mechanism, it will be obvious that many minor changes might be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a pin setting apparatus, means for automatically positioning the pins at a point above and in proximity to the alley bed, means for releasing the pins to permit them to contact in upright position with the alley bed, and inertia retarded means operatively connected with the pin releasing means for automatically controlling the releasing means whereby the pins will be deposited gently and without jar on the bed.

2. In a pin setting apparatus, means for automatically positioning the pins on the alley bed, means automatically controlling the .action of the pin positioning means, and an inertia retarded device actuated by the controlling means and limiting the speed of operation thereof. i

3. In a pin setting apparatus, means for automatically positioning the pins on the alley bed, and means automatically controlling the action of the pin positioning means lncluding a Hy wheel and gearing operatively connecting the pin positioning means with the Hy wheel.

4. In a pin setting apparatus, means for automatically positioning the pins above and in proximity to the alley bed, means for releasing the pins toI permit them to contact in upright position with the alley bed, and means automatically controlling the releasing movement and reta-rding the same whereby the pins will be deposited gently and without jar on the bed including a Hy wheel and gearing operatively connecting the Hy Wheel With the pin releasing means.

5. In a pin setting apparatus, means for automatically uprighting the pins on the pin carrier into a position immediately above and in proximity to the alley bed when the carrier is lowered into proximity to the bed,

means for releasing the pins from engageient with the pin carrier to permit them to settle in upright position on the alley bed, means urging the carrier to an elevated position, means releasing the carrier to permit it to move upward when said pins have becn fully released, and inertia retarded means acting to automatically control the release movement of the pin releasing means and then permit the rapid movement of the carrier 'eleasing means.

6. n a pin setting apparatus, means for automatically positioning the pins at a point above and in proximity to the alley bed, means for releasing the pins to permit them to contact in upright position with the alley bed and means automatically controlling the releasing movement to thereby cause the pins to be deposited gently and without jar on the bed including a ily wheel, a train of gears operatively engaging the iy wheel, and a shaft upon which certain wheels of the train are mounted, a pinion loosely mounted upon the shaft, a ratchet wheel mounted upon the shaft, pawls carried by said pinion and engaging the ratchet wheel whereby the pinion may run freely in one direction but in the other direction will operatively engage the shaft to rotate it and rotate the iiy wheel and a rack engaging said pinion, the extremity of the rack being toothless whereby to permit the rack to move freely after the pinion has passed on to this toothless portion.

7. In a pin setting apparatus a vertically movable carrier, counterbalancing means therefor, locking means normally preventing lowering of the carrier, manually operable means for effecting release of the locking means to permit the lowering of the carrier, means on the carrier automatically actuated upon a descent of the carrier acting to upright the pins and support the pins in a vertical position with their butt ends just above the floor of the carrier, means then acting to fully release said pin supporting means, and inertia device resisting the release of the pin holding means.

8. In pin setting apparatus, a vertically movable pin carrier, means on the carrier for uprighting pins and supporting the pins at their basal ends in an upright position, said supporting means being releasable to permit the pins to move downward from the carrier, means forautomatically actuating said pin uprighting and supporting means as the carrier approaches the floor* of the alley, means acting automatically to return the pin uprighting means to their initial position and release the pin supporting means, and inertia device'resisting the return movement of the pin uprighting means and the releasing movement of the pin supporting means.

9. In pin setting apparatus, a vertically movable pin carrier, means on the carrier for uprighting pins and supporting the pins at their basal ends in an upright position, said supporting means being releasable to permit the pins to move downward from the carrier, means for automatically actuating said pin uprighting and supporting means as the carrier approaches the iioor of' the alley, means acting automatically to return the pin uprighting'means to their initial positions and release the pin supporting means,

, inertia retarded means resisting the return movement of the pin uprighting means and the releasing movement of thel pin supporting means, a locking means preventing a complete return of the carrier to its ully raised position, means actuated automatically by the signature.

l JOHN CLAYTON BACKUS. 

